Friday, March 13, 2009

Smothered Cabbage

My Dad's birthday was on St. Patrick's Day and he really enjoyed corn beef and cabbage as his birthday meal. I couldn't stand the cabbage. Don't tell my Mother this, but I REALLY didn't like the way she prepared the cabbage. Not only did the whole house smell terrible, but it tasted as nasty as it smelled.

One day I was invited to a friend's home for dinner and they were having cabbage. I was taught to eat what I was served, especially if you're dining at someone's home. NEVER tell your host that you don't like what they are serving. You can't even imagine how sick I felt before we sat down to dinner.

When dinner was served, the cabbage looked nothing like the kind my Mother had tortured me with; in fact when I put a forkful in my mouth, it even tasted REALLY good.

A.J. does not like the smell of cabbage cooking. He thinks he cleverly banned the cooking of cabbage in our home into our wedding vows! To this day he thinks I had our wedding video edited for "cabbage" and the "obey" portion of the vows.

Although this is not a pretty dish, this cabbage is the bomb, do you hear me, I mean it rocks and it does not, I repeat does not stink up your house. So get a little Cajun-y for St. Patty's Day and enjoy a portion of smothered cabbage!

Smothered Cabbage - adapted from John Folse

Cut 1 large head of cabbage into quarters and discard the core and the large exterior leaves. Chop the quarters into 2 or 3 pieces, then separate the leaves.

Add cabbage to the pot and thoroughly blend into the vegetable mixture. Continue to stir fry the cabbage until the cabbage leaves are wilted.

Add 1-1/2 cups of chicken stock and reduce heat to simmer. Cover pot and allow to cook for approximately 45 minuted, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper and continue cooking until cabbage is well smothered.

The cabbage will seemed overcooked but it actually gets a savory flavor with a slight hint of sweet going on in the background. This is the way Cajuns like their cabbage; I know you will too!

I love, love cabbage! But I still think that this would stink up the house. It never fails when I cook cabbage some one will just pop over for some reason or another and the house smells like we all farted. (Don't tell my mama I said farted, that was the F-word in our house when we were growing up and we could get our mouths washed out for saying it)Same thing happens when I cook broccoli, except when I make your roasted broccoli, it's the bomb!

Katherine-- I couldnt click onto this fast enough when I saw the title. I LOVE LOVE cabbage.. I am making this.. Have you ever used kielbasa with it rather than the other? Also, I really really would love that apple butter recipe, pretty please... I'll be a good girl, promise.

2 years ago for Christmas my hubs gave me the John Folse Encyclopedia. It had this recipe in it and, of course, i used it for that New Years but i added some white wine with the stock and tobasco. I made two heads of cabbage and it disappeared. I will never go back to the old smothered cabbage again. Love your site.

I laughed when you said how much you disliked your mom's cabbage. I couldn't stand my mom's either! I used to chop it really small and try to hide it in my milk glass. It worked until she did the dishes and poured out a lot of cabbage!! My hubby loves this meal so I need to give it another go. A big Happy Birthday to your dad!

Your corn beef and cabbage dish sounds great and I'm not even much of a fan but you've made it special with the cajun touches. My mother also stunk the house up with cabbage every Wednesday. She didn't like it but my dad did. As kids we would hold our nose while he ate it. Yours gives me inspiration that perhaps, as a thinking adult, I should give it another chance.Sam

Mmm, I love cabbage so much! Is that weird? Probably. Anyway, your smothered cabbage looks fabulous, and I can't wait to try it. My boyfriend similarly hates whenever I cook cabbage or brussel sprouts because of the smell. He can get over it, though, I'm so making this smothered cabbage recipe ASAP!

I LOVE cabbage so this looks simply awesome to me. I decided to re-try corned beef and cabbage the other day and this morning I made a hash with the leftovers, including a bit of cabbage. It added a sweetness that was darn tasty.

Love this! I guess I'm lucky hub loves cabbage too since it seems to be a love or hate kind of thing. I don't know what it smells like cooking, as I have never tried it myself. Yours sure does look great though. :)